Billerica Town Meeting passes $136.8M FY 2015 budget

BILLERICA -- While Tewksbury Town Meeting passed its budget in a blink of an eye last week, it took thousands of blinks from Billerica Town Meeting members to pass its fiscal 2015 budget.

But it finally came to an end Thursday, after $200 was removed from the more than $130 million budget.

After starting the debate over the budget Thursday, May 8, members wrapped up the budget discussion a week later, approving the $136.8 million budget, 147-16.

The fiscal 2015 budget is about $2.4 million more than this year, a 1.76 percent increase. The Public Schools' budget is almost $56 million of the overall budget, which is $1.7 million more than this year, or a 3.1 percent increase.

"I'm happy to finish it up," Town Manager John Curran said after the meeting. "It was a smooth budget process. We had to do it intermittently because some articles needed to be moved around, but we got it done."

The $200 removed was from the Commission on Disabilities, which has been inactive.

The town/school-shared costs for health insurance are budgeted at $12.5 million for the coming fiscal year. Town Meeting member Bob Correnti proposed on Thursday that town employees who earn less than $5,000 would not be eligible for town health insurance.

He asked for a "sense" of Town Meeting, which voted, 107-53, for selectmen to examine his proposal and bring back an article in the fall.

"Like pension reform that went into effect in 2009, we should look at health-care eligibility in town."

Two selectmen, Chairman Mike Rosa and George Simolaris, who both defeated Correnti in the 2013 municipal election, receive health-care coverage from the town. It costs the town about $7,000 per plan for the selectmen, who earn $2,000 and $1,800, respectively.

In 2009, then-Selectman Correnti proposed to halt town health insurance for selectmen. However, Rosa and Selectman Andrew Deslaurier, the two selectmen who could have seconded the motion for discussion, said nothing at the meeting. Back then, Rosa was the only member of the board who accepted town health insurance.

Town Meeting also approved a medical-marijuana facility zoning regulation, while rejecting another regulation.

State regulations for marijuana dispensaries require a minimum 500-foot buffer from places where children commonly congregate. However, Town Meeting approved a bylaw that will impose a separation of 1,000 feet, in response to some residents who are concerned about the exposure of children to such facilities.

"To say this is more of a threat than a liquor store is foolish. It's laughable," said Town Meeting member Justin Damon.

While approving that 1,000-foot regulation, 110-49, members rejected the bylaw to restrict medical-marijuana facilities to the industrial corridor of Republic Road, Esquire Road and Sterling Road, which lies parallel to Route 3 between Treble Cove Road and Rangeway Road.

"This overlay district is recommended due to its ease of access from Route 3 and comparative isolation from residential neighborhoods compared with other potential locations in Billerica," according to the warrant article submitted by the Planning Board.

But Rosa spoke against the article, saying the town should deal with facilities on a case-by-case basis.

"We should go by the individual location-by-location and then vote on whether it fits the requirements," Rosa said.

Town Meeting voted for the article, 89-66, but that wasn't enough for the two-thirds requirement for a zoning article.